Dry process for cleaning garments

ABSTRACT

FURS ARE CLEANED BY CONTACTING THE FUR WITH AN ORGANIC DRY CLEANING LIQUID MIXED WITH GROUND PITH OF CORN STALKS.

United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Furs are cleaned by contacting the fur with an organic dry cleaning liquid mixed with ground pith of corn stalks.

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 438,392 filed Mar. 9, 1965 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a dry process of cleaning fur coats and fur-trimmed cloth coats and to a new composition useful for dry cleaning various garments.

Heretofore, furs have been cleaned by a process of wetting down both fur and lining with dry cleaning solvents, tumbling the garments together with sawdust for at least one hour, and then tumbling them in an open cage for another hour.

Such a process has limited cleaning power and it cannot be applied to variously colored furs in one batch, such as white mink, blue seal, and persian because of discoloration and bleeding of the dyes.

At the end of such process, sawdust adheres to the fur and penetrates the lining. Removal of the sawdust requires the opening of the lining, blowing with compressed air, and retacking the lining, often, as it happens, in a hasty and careless manner, so that the garment may not thereafter fit properly.

As for cloth coats with fur trim or lining, the process generally used was to immerse the coat in a tumbler of a dry cleaning solvent such as perchloroethylene or a mineral solvent, tumble it for about half an hour, then place it in a heat dryer with an exhaust blower for another 30 minutes to remove as much solvent as possible, get the fur as dry as possible, and reclaim as much solvent as possible from the fur, which has a high saturation capacity. The use of heat is not desirable with furs. In combination with the solvent, heat extracts the natural oil, and excessive heat can cause the leather to stiffen and crack, damaging the fur irreparably. The immersed method can also cause colors to bleed, dimming the color of the darker furs and fabrics and darkening any lighter ones that are present in the same batch. Such items as plastic but tons and any matter inadvertently left in pockets, such as lipsticks, tend to melt under the heat of the old method.

This invention relates to a new dry cleaning composition comprising an admixture of the ground pith of corn stalks into which a dry cleaning solvent such as perchloroethylene has been admixed. The invention includes a process of cleaning furs which involves tumbling the furs in the presence of the admixture of the ground pith of corn stalks and the dry cleaning solvent in a tumbler closed to the atmosphere for a suflicient period of time to clean the furs and dissipate the major portion of the ice ground pith and then continuing the tumbling of the furs in a tumbler open to the atmosphere, preferably with a forced exhaust to remove any remaining portion of the ground pith and any of the dry cleaning solvent which may also be present at this stage.

The use of the combination of the ground pith from corn stalks and a dry cleaning solvent permits the dry cleaning of mixed fur coats such as white mink and black persian without causing any discoloration of any of the furs or running of the dyes. The use of the ground pith of corn stalks in combination with the dry cleaning solvent does not result in a stiffening or hardening of the leather even after repeated dry cleanings. The ground pith of corn stalks when used according to this invention not only does not stick to the cloth portions of the fur garment but the majority of it simply disintegrates or disappears during the processing.

The process and composition is soft to all garments including fur-trimmed cloth coats, fur-lined cloth coats with or without antistatic, water-repellant, mothproof or mildew-proof additives. The process is performed without the application of heat although a mild degree of heat is generated in the friction of the tumbling process which enhances the cleaning action.

Various grades of the ground pith of corn stalks can be used according to this invention and the particle size thereof can also be varied. It is advantageous, however, to use a particle size between about and 200 mesh. It is also advantageous to use the ground pith in the dry form since it is easier to prepare the compositions of this invention in the desired consistency and to obtain a more intimate mixture.

Various dry cleaning solvents and detergents or mixtures thereof can be used according to this invention but it is preferred to employ non-toxic, non-flammable dry cleaning compositions such as perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene. Other dry cleaning solvents or detergents such as naphtha and carbon tetrachloride can, of course, be used alone or in admixture if desired.

The dry cleaning composition of this invention is also quite versatile and various other materials can be added thereto as will be apparent to those skilled in the art such as antistatic agents, emulsifying agents, waterrepellant agents, and so forth.

The amount of organic dry cleaning solvent which can be admixed with the ground pith of corn stalks can be varied and will depend somewhat upon the particular dry cleaning solvent employed and the particular additives which might be used in conjunction with the organic dry cleaning solvent and the ground pith of corn stalks. It is, of course, generally advisable to use a sufficient amount of the dry cleaning solvent to effect an adequate cleaning of the fur garments but not so much in excess so that it would cause running of the dyes used in making the garment or a hardening or stiffening of the leather. I have generally found that the use of approximately 700 cc. of the organic dry cleaning liquid with 1 quart of the ground pith of corn stalks of between 100 and 200 mesh is satisfactory under most circumstances. I have also found it to be advantageous to utilize the composition in a paste-like consistency and that this consistency can be readily obtained by the addition of other functional or non-functional ingredients such as emulsifying agents,

antistatic agents, and water can be added thereto in the desired amount to obtain the desired consistency. Approximately, one quart of ground pith of corn stalks (100-200 mesh) will clean around 12 full length garments of fur or cloth and, of course, a greater number of stoles or jackets.

The following example illustrates the invention more particularly but it is understood that the invention is not considered to be in any way limited to the specific formulation or process set forth therein.

EXAMPLE A mixture of the following materials in the amounts designated was first prepared:

Perchloroethylene 500 Trichloroethylene 200 Magnesium silicofluoride 2 Polydimethyl siloxane oil 1,000 centistokes (marketed by the Dow Chemical Company under the trade name 200 Silicone) 8 Water 170 Sorbitan monolaureate (marketed by Atlas Powder Company under the trade name Span 20-80) 10 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaureate (marketed by Atlas Powder Company under the trade name Tween 20) 100 The above formula was then thoroughly mixed with 1 quart of ground (100-200 mesh) pith of corn stalks. The resulting composition was of a paste-like consistency.

Twelve coats of various fabrics, textures, colors and furs (including mink, beaver, nutria, and persian) were placed in a tumbler. The paste-like composition above formulated was added to the drum of the tumbler, the drum was closed to the atmosphere, and the coats were tumbled for minutes. The coats were then removed to a cage open to the atmosphere and were again tumbled for 15 minutes under a forced exhaust. At no time was any heat applied.

The garments were then removed from the cage and hung. All of them except a beaver and a nutria were in condition for immediate return to the customer under normal standards of cleaning and ironing. The beaver and nutria required slight ironing.

All of the coats were in excellent condition. Their glues and dyes remained fixed, and none of the furs was matted. All of the garments were free of dust and corn stalk pith; no solid material was observed inside the linings. The furs, as well as the fabric of the coats made partially of cloth, were clean and had excellent sheen and lustre.

The presence of the magnesium silica fluorides in formulation in this example aids in preventing the coats from becoming dusty and aids in keeping the furs wet during the processing.

The polydimethyl siloxane oil imparts some Waterrepellancy to the garments as well as giving added lustre t0 the fur.

The Span -80 is an emulsifying agent which aids in mixing the components and in the cleaning operation and the Tween 20 is used as an antistatic agent to prevent the build-up of electrostatic charges during the tumbling process and gives the garment antistatic properties when it is subsequently worn.

Any of the above materials, however, can be omitted without departing from the scope of this invention or various substitutes used therefor as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The dry cleaning composition of this invention is also quite stable and can be stored for a considerable length of time in a suitable container preferably closed to the air.

When employing the process of this invention, as Well as the novel dry cleaning composition, at least 90% of the fur garments cleaned thereby are ready for delivery to the customer upon removal from the tumbler and require no pressing or steaming.

The process of this invention can be carried out in conventional equipment known in the art. It is, of course, advantageous to carry out the process in a single tumbler which can be closed to the atmosphere during the first cycle and opened to the atmosphere with application of a forced exhaust during the second cycle. Opening of the tumbler to the atmosphere and the application of the exhaust can be accomplished quite readily by providing the tumbler with perforations. The process can be carried out in two steps by performing the first cycle in a closed tumbler, removing the garments after the first tumbling operation from the closed tumbler and then removing them to an open or perforated tumbler or shaker and applying a forced exhaust in the second cycle.

The time of the first tumbling operation can vary considerably but it is advisable in order to obtain sufficient cleaning of the garments to tumble the garments in the closed tumbler for approximately 15-20 minutes. After such time, most of the ground pith of the corn stalks has disappeared. The duration of the second cycle can also be varied considerably and it is only necessary to tumble them for a sufiicient length of time to remove any remaining eornstalk pith and odor, there being no solvent present.

The composition of this invention, as well as the process is also applicable to the cleaning of cloth garments. When fur-trimmed cloth coats are cleaned according to this invention, the cloth portions were also cleaned to acceptable standards.

Wha is claimed is:

1. The method of dry cleaning furs which comprises contacting the furs with a composition consisting essentially of an organic dry cleaning liquid admixed with ground pith of corn stalks and in sufficient proportions to effect the dry cleaning of the furs.

2. The method of drycleaning furs according to claaim 1 in which the composition consisting essentially of perchloroethylene admixed with ground pith of corn stalks and water in such proportions as to render such compositron paste-like.

3. The method of claim 2 which the ground pith of corn stalk is between about and 200 mesh.

4. The method of dry cleaning furs which comprises tumbling the furs in a tumbler closed to the atmosphere together with a composition consisting essentially of an organic dry cleaning liquid and ground pith of corn stalks 1n sufiicient proportions to effect the dry cleaning of the furs for a suflicient length of time to substantially clean the furs and then tumbling the furs with such composition as remains after the closed tumbling step open to the atmosphere while maintaining the open tumbler urtder forced exhaust.

5. The method of dry cleaning furs which comprises tumbling the furs in a tumbler closed to the atmosphere together with a composition consisting essentially of perchloroethylene and ground pith of corn stalks and Water in sufiiclent proportion to render the composition pastelike and to effect the dry cleaning of the furs for a sufiic1ent length of time to substantially clean the furs and to disintegrate the majority of the ground pith, continuing the tumbling of the furs open to the atmosphere and under forced exhaust to remove the remaining portion of the ground pith and the perchloroethylene therefrom.

6. A composition of matter consisting essentially of a mixture of ground pith of corn stalks and an organic dry cleaning solvent in sufiicient proportions to effect the dry cleaning of the garments.

7. A composition of claim 6 in which the dry cleaning solvent is perchloroethylene.

8. A composition of claim 7 which contains a sufiicient amount of water to render the composition paste-like.

9. A composition of claim 8 which also includes an antistatic agent and a water-repellent agent in sullicient proportions to render the garments antistatic and Water 3,091,508 5/ 1963 Edwards 252-89 repellant. 3,124,536 3/1964 Ware 8142 ITE TD gI ZZZ ES Z TENTS FOREIGN PATENTS UN 1294459 2/1919 Heimcke 8 142 5 7 7/1933 Gleat n ln 814 5-12 5 MAYER WEINBLATT, Primary Examiner 11 e1 e a. 2,344,247 3/1944 Hopkins et a1. 3 142 SCHULZ Asslstant Exammer 2,364,608 12/1944 Edwards 252-88 2,729,576 1/1956 Trusler s 142 10 2,982,676 5/1961 Boer 8-142 134'7; 25289, 163 

